The new eight year deal is echoed right through the club following on from Graham Carr signing a similar deal not so long back. His current backroom staff of John Carver, Steve Stone and goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman have also signed new long term deals.
It’s an odd one as deals like this aren’t often seen in football. Indeed the original five-year deal signed by Pardew was seen as somewhat of a break against the norm, with the future of a football manager only ever certain for a limited time and whilst results continue to justify an employment.
I’m a fan of Pardew but I still don’t like deals like this. To me it takes away the edge knowing full well that, regardless of results, as a manager you are either guaranteed a job or guaranteed a large pay off should your position become untenable. Mind you, I have no doubt that there is some clause in there limiting any kind of compensation due to Pardew and his team in the event of a firing.
Still, a firing seems a long way away right now. Against the odds, and against the wishes of some NUFC “fans” who don’t want to back the manager, Pardew has been successful to date. However the true test will be replicating and bettering his success on an ongoing basis although a seeming lack of backing in the transfer market hasn’t exactly given him a great chance of doing that this season. Still, early days and all that…
Managing Director of Newcastle United, Derek Llambias, had this to say on the matter:
“If you look at clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger have shown that stability gives you the best platform to achieve success and that is the model we wish to emulate here.”
“We are looking to build on the success we had last season and these new contracts are aimed at keeping the club progressing on and off the pitch, as we have done since returning to the Premier League in 2010.”
“Alan has done a fantastic job over the last couple of years and has proved what a great Premier League manager he is. I have total respect for him in all football matters and have an excellent relationship with him which I think benefits the club enormously.”
“Alan also has one of the best backroom teams in the country and I would like to thank John Carver, Steve Stone, and Andy Woodman for all their combined efforts.”
“We hope this announcement will be great news for the fans, whose support and commitment to this club over the years has been fantastic.”
Now I’m not denying that Alan Pardew was deserving of a new deal. After all he was reportedly one of the lowest paid managers in the Premier League and I have no doubt this deal will still mean that he is one of the lower earners. Maybe he’s been given a bit of a payrise but I can’t see it being staggering.
I just feel that eight years is too long. It’s great to see such a signal of commitment from a football club these days, but at the end of the day this is a deal that bucks the trend for a reason. Not many managers make it past two or three seasons, let alone ten!
What do you think?
TOONSY in case you missed my comment on past thread,enjoy your first “family” hols,hope you have plenty cash 😆
eight yrs owr long for me is jabba trying to keep the FA hands off him in case hodgson gets the bullet 😆 or is it hes the only guy that will work with them 😉
icedog(Quote)
Ice
Either that or Ashley is trying to prove a point he’s serious about making us a consistent top 6 team with Pardew at the helm. Pffft 😆 😆 😆 😆
Andymag(Quote)
wait does this mean we will be stuck with Ashley for 8 more years!!!!
Ashley out 👿 👿 👿 🙂 🙂 😉 😉
ron(Quote)
Hope you’re right Andymag but I’m with toonsy on this one. 8 years is far too long and invites complacency. The weakest link in this chain is Llambias however so let’s see what happens with him. I think I can guess if Ashley remains the owner no matter how many good players we miss out on because of penny pinching. We could be much better off this season with an outlay of 15M pounds more but let’s see how this works out. The enormous increase in TV revenue starts next season so we will be in a much better position to judge our owner’s ambition then.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I like the stability this brings to the club- for far too long we’ve had none of it. But that could have been acccomplished with new and improved five year deals. Still, good for them as I think the entire staff has been excellant
MDS(Quote)
I think only time will tell but 8 years in football is an incredibly long time. I just don’t see this as sensible or necessary. For me a 3 year improved deal with performance incentives would keep Pardew much hungrier. Keep him lean and mean as with the players!
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Cheers Ice. Looking forward to it now it’s only a matter of hours and not days or weeks 😀
toonsy(Quote)
Also back on subject it’s important to remember that contracts aren’t really worth that much these days anyway. If Ashley and Llambias want rid they’ll get rid. Eight years brings a lot of stability, but it’s not a guarantee that Pardew will be here for eight years.
toonsy(Quote)
I guess I don’t see the negative side to it. If he (AP) performs bad enough or the team drop into a position that threatens Premier League TV revenue, Ashley will take the steps necessary to protect his investment. Even if he has to pay out a lump sum to the staff to do so, it’ll be worth it to keep another year of PL TV revenue. In the meantime, you get a form of stability that I’ve not seen at the club since I started watching English footy during SBR’s last 2 years.
I can recall seeing in the past people complaining about manager turnover at NUFC. Here we have an opportunity to rectify that, and now it’s too long? What’s the happy medium then? 2-3 year deals?
Again, I think it’s a wise move and I offer my full support.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
A good balanced debate with good points on both sides. It’s much better to be arguing about a successful team playing good football than the days of Roeder, Kinnear etc isn’t it? 😀
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I’m with you Norcal- again it seems long but I fully support it.
MDS(Quote)
GeordieTwo says:
September 27, 2012 at 17:55
I think only time will tell but 8 years in football is an incredibly long time.
—————————-
So true. 8 years ago at this time the club had just sacked SBR 😯 . That seems so long ago. (Then again some of those years seemed like dog’s years)
MDS(Quote)
Toonsy I agree with you it does semm a very long time and I really can’t see why unless he thinks if Pards keeps going that the FA or someone will be after him and have to cough up big money ? I also agree that if they want shot of him they will still do it.
Andy @ 2 I don’t agree with you that Jabba is trying to prove a point he’s serious about making us a consistent top 6 team with Pardew at the helm. if that was the case then surely he should have backed him during the window, when he made it quite clear that we needed players in ?? because after all he can only work with the tools he’s given, and if he doesn’t have the tools he needs then it doesn’t matter how good he is 😕
Big Dave(Quote)
Maybe their is a bigger picture too these deals , it brings a sense of stability to the club that has been missing for years . Stability and sucsess which we had last season brings sponsorship ,we now have european football and last years manager of the year tied too the club long term . Ashley maybe hoping this is going to bring the prawn sandwich brigade too fill the executive boxes and a stadium sponsor. just a thought.
Axel(Quote)
It is a very long dea, although knowing ashley’s way of doing business it will be loaded with clauses linked to expectation. For example a clause that if we finish in the bottom half pardew goes. That way Ashley can get rid of pardew if he feels his investment is threatened, but we have the stability and security of a manger tied down to a long term deal.
Chris(Quote)
Just pre ordered my 1000 goals DVD, The club have had it in the pipeline for weeks after we got stuck on 999 before the international break, Sunderland are also planning to release a DVD when they reach the milestone estimated sometime around the 2024 mark… 😉
CC(Quote)
Toonsy -Have a great family holiday mate ,first one with the lad too 😀 .
As I said on the previous blog I welcome the 8yr extension but in reality it means ****** all it can be terminated at any time ,which I’m sure Pards is aware of . 😉 I fully expect Jabba to have a clause in place limiting any payout to them , being the wheeler dealer he is . 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
I don’t really have a problem with it, but I don’t really understand the logic. He still had what, 4 years to run? I mean that’s a lot for any club, for Newcastle that’s about 8 manager’s worth 😆
I don’t really get it…part of me thinks about an f.a buyout attempt as there’s no doubt, if we play the same and England are still as ****, the F.A will come calling, unless Arry gets back in favour. But then, if it was all about the buyout, why the hell would you give the other staff 8 years? Unless you’re assuming they’d all join Pardew’s team wherever he went, club or country….which is a ridiculous assumption really.
8 years is a lot, whilst it should hopefully create an atmostphere of stability (and god knows we’ve needed that for yonks) it might also create complacency…I doubt it though, I think Pards is a good manager and will do what he’s expected regardless…perhaps this will even ease pressure on him when we don’t do well (or even now, when fans are slagging him off after a decent start) so maybe it could improve us..
It’s about 50/50. I don’t get it.
Newkie(Quote)
CC-How much are they going for mate? Might get one meself
Newkie(Quote)
Dave
I wasn’t serious, hence the “pfft [laughing]”. I know sarcasm is hard to show in textual form but I thought it was obvious, my bad 😕 .
andymag(Quote)
Andy yeah I knew that but I was expanding on it incase someone read it and thought it was a good one 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
I wonder if their still working on Ba’s new contract 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
We can certainly agree that 8 years is probably too long, but 2 reasons this makes sense:
1-rewards good work
2-provides stability
Those are both good traits that I am happy to see in the club.
MDS(Quote)
Big Dave says:
September 27, 2012 at 19:57
I wonder if their still working on Ba’s new contract
——————————–
If he keeps insisting on 90K a week, they will be working on it a long time
MDS(Quote)
Brilliant news Toonsy as again we are setting a standard. Ashley is smart and it will be retainer plus % of profit achieved based on league position/performance which is why his empire out performs most in the retail sector.
We are lucky to have stability and long may it continue
Whoarya(Quote)
I’m not sure I buy that he wants 90K a week… sounds like something someone just threw out there and everyone latched onto….
BTW I would just like to say that the French commentators were ALL OVER Shola last night…. They were in raptures over him the whole time, and at one point one of them said how the whole game had revolved around him! 😆 😯
I think the 8 year deals are good. Rather than think of them as promoting complacency, I like to think of people being really committed to building something together, knowing they are all in it for the long haul…..
Glass half full 😎
Susan(Quote)
Lot of people saying he ll be due lots of compo if sacked, I reckon slim Mike will have this covered, if one thing he is not stupid about money! It cost him a fortune to sack Big Sam and he would have learnt a lesson. Pardew is on low wages as it is and has bought into Ashley’s bonus system. This potentially gives what the club has needed for years, a settled environment for manager, all backroom staff and scouts who all have 8 year contracts. Chance to build and shows long term planning so fine with me. Will it work? Who knows, it doesn’t usually when it comes to NUFC but under Pardew it has so far. Hopefully fans will be less tempted to call for change quickly and encourage backing now if it does begin going wrong, something we have all been guilty of in the past. For me, better the devil you know, in the past we have ended up with muppets like Big Sam, Souness, Roeder, Kinnear and, no offence meant to people, Keegan. I doubt Pardew will get complacent, why would he??
Gordielaa(Quote)
Is there any examples of a long standing manager (7 years +) becoming complacent?
Nathandio(Quote)
In theory i think its a good idea. We all know football management is a result driven business but I think the thought behind is if the club have a stable structure the club will have a better chance of continued success and maybe ( just maybe ) end our trophy drought.
I think also the fact Pardew clearly has bought into the club transfer policy helps and he seems to have a good working relationship with the.board.
Johno Toon(Quote)
Nathan-Yeah, Wenger. He got tired of trying to win the league and decided to help Barca, City, and now Manure win titles by letting them by his players 😉
Newkie(Quote)
Wow, there’s a lot of anti-Pards stuff on the BBC site. Quite surprised, but I suppose I shouldn’t be… 😕
Newkie(Quote)
Really quite random and groundbreaking.
Can’t think of a single negative to be honest.
Don’t buy into the idea “Pardew will get complacent”
Can anyone name a single complacent manager EVER ❓
Managing must be incredibly stressful, the only people doing it are those that want to succeed.
Wouldn’t want anyone else other than Pardew atm as well. Finely tuned relationship with the board. Knows the situation with transfers and is willing to live with it.
Man management skills are up there as well. Telling HBA last season he had to learn to track back and fight for his place 😯 Anywhere else it would have been carnage!
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Hey Newkie, did you read the article on the BBC site? This very odd sentence stuck out for me:
‘Newcastle, who had been expected to struggle after narrowly avoiding relegation the season before, won 19 of their 38 league games, keeping 15 clean sheets.’
12th is narrowly avoiding relegation??! 🙄
Susan(Quote)
Susan
You need to come to the realisation that all of the press are idiots and hate us 😉
andymag(Quote)
Susan how’s you lass longtime no see,
As for the beeb im just surprised that “narrowly avoiding relegation” was the only bullshit bit they didn’t get right
Big Dave(Quote)
Maybe the powers that be are just making a statement of intent about how much they are behind the manager and coaches. People read too much into things sometimes when there actually isn’t anything there.
DJG(Quote)
Ashley drives his business on staff incentives and even his own salary includes bonus shares when Sports Direct hit profit targets.
It is quite possible that Pardew may well be on a much lower than average basic salary with the bulk of his salary being performance related bonuses.
If this is the case then that is all the incentive needed for Pardew to get the results the club wants.
It also means that if he is axed during the term of his contract he will only receive compensation based on his basic salary.
A win win scenario for Ashley —- and the fans.
sidekick(Quote)
Susan-Aye I saw that bit, scratching my head at that and many of the comments tbh…we had maybe one week where there was *some* worry, but really, we looked safe ever since he took over and finished twelfth….poor journalism 😕
Newkie(Quote)
i would imagine and hope that there are built in clauses to safeguard club if they wish to terminate contracts …a simple year wages eg with provisos if ap finds another job .
as long as ma has built in safeguards it has to be good news …
many toon fans have prob never thought that any manager would want to leave ..but if ap is keeps club moving foreward on small budget wouldn,t be surprised to see arsenal or spurs in for him
dj(Quote)
DJ-Aye, imagine if Spurs came in for pards in two years time, bought him out for 3/4 mil, he failed and got fired within 6 months and we re-appointed him for free. It would be Ashley’s wet dream 😆
Newkie(Quote)
Good news… what would be worse for a manager performance…. fearing the chop if he under achieves and being concerned about his contract status… or becoming complacent because he has a long deal??…I think the pressure from getting the chop would bring about more poor management decisions than complacancy.
It also tells the players that Pardz is here for the long haul and that they how will be leading them for years to come..
🙂
aussie magpie fan(Quote)
Aussie-Exactly. Showing the players where the power lies…probably important with all the french lad’s we’re carrying…No offense to any frenchies ofc 😉
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie, yep any thoughts of player power within the club are gone now 😉
Pardz will out last them all if you go by contract lengths…
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
The Lambias interview on Pards’ contract is interesting
“Our goal is 8th and above, Alan’s goal is to do better than he did last year”
Sound’s about right
Newkie(Quote)
Hey Dave 🙂
I had to go to bed, up again now at 4:30…. Yeah I haven’t been commenting much, but always following along here. Maybe I will stop being so shy now 😉
YAY, we play again tomorrow! 😀
Susan(Quote)
Shy? Pah 😉
toonsy(Quote)
😉
Have a great holiday Toonsy!! 😀
Susan(Quote)
Toonsy..where n when ya off?….enjoy it mate 😎
A bit strange but hopefully a statment of intent but I don’t think it’ll make much difference either way except maybe give Pards a slight piece of mind. If his results are generally poor he’ll be sacked, if they’re good he wont, same as every manager at every other club. Here’s hoping he’s still here in 8 years and beyond as it’ll mean he’s done a good job….and a prolonged period of stability would be nice
richietoon(Quote)
I agree Rich, you are a bit strange 😉
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Rich – Llorte de Mar basically. Just rushing around getting things ready.
And a word of warning, there won’t be so many articles over the next week or so. Moreno will get a few out but he’s also got a lot on at the moment so bear with us 🙂
If you want to blame someone blame my Mrs. We were supposed to go away after the season had finished but she went and got up the duff and the due dates collided with the birth of Billy, especially if something had gone wrong, so we decided to change it 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
aussie..I’m dissapointed, just a bit? 😆
richietoon(Quote)
*disappointed 🙄
richietoon(Quote)
Enjoy it….have ya packed ya waterproofs? 😯 😉 …think its ok up there actually, few heavy showers here yesterday and over the next day are so. Nae getting pished mind!
richietoon(Quote)
Rich 😀
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Glad to see the long contracts.I signed for 10 years at the age of 80 and expect to see mine through.Howay the lads.Jim M.
mitchjhk(Quote)